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EAST LANSING – Mark Dantonio, Connor Cook and dozens of Cook’s teammates have addressed it extensively by now, all reiterating the same point: As one of 12 members of the leadership council, Cook is one of the leaders of the Michigan State football team.

But the fact that he was not one of the three members of that council voted a team captain before the season continues to be a discussion point, most recently in a Chicago Tribune article about the Bears looking at Cook as a possible first-round pick and quarterback of the future. It also comes up often during broadcasts of MSU games, which is what SiriusXM radio host Jack Arute referenced when he asked Dantonio today to put the issue to rest.

Dantonio said on “College Sports Nation” that the Spartans “vote 12 guys in as captains, that’s the way I look at it, (and Cook) is one of the ones.”

“To continue to bring it up to me is nitpicking. ... ‘How can I bring this guy down and talk negative about him?’” Dantonio said. “There’s nothing there.”

Players vote for the 12-man council, and they vote for the three captains from that council. Senior defensive end Shilique Calhoun was voted captain for a second straight year, with senior center Jack Allen and senior linebacker Darien Harris joining him.

Dantonio said Cook is “doing an outstanding job leading our football team” off the field, in the huddles and on the sidelines, and that the No. 6 Spartans are 8-0 “largely because of his play.”

Cook is coming off of a career-high 398 passing yards in Saturday’s 52-26 win over Indiana, setting a school single-game record with 416 yards of total offense. Dantonio said the fact he has just two interceptions this season (vs. 17 touchdown passes) is “almost unheard of.”

The Spartans (4-0 Big Ten) have the week off before returning to play Nov. 7 at Nebraska (3-5, 1-3). Dantonio said “for the most part, we’re gonna get all of our guys back” from injury who aren’t out with season-ending injuries, saying most are “ankles or things that are nagging.”

That could mean center Jack Allen (ankle), cornerback Darian Hicks (concussion) and running back Madre London (leg) returning to action. Safety RJ Williamson isn’t expected back until the end of the regular season or MSU’s bowl game, after biceps surgery.